Mary Eileen Townsend (1929-2019)

Mary Eileen Townsend
(1929-2019)

Mary Eileen Townsend, 89, of Lyons, passed away Jan. 21, 2019, at Hospital District 1 of Rice County, Lyons, Kan.  She was born July 31, 1929 in Menlo, Kan., the daughter of Ralph and Iva Barnhart Turner. She graduated from Menlo High School, Menlo, with the class of 1947. Mary has resided in Lyons since 2014, formerly of Hays, Kan. She was a bank teller at Citizen State Bank in Utica, Kan. from 1959 to 1979; and a grandparent at Hays USD 489 for several years. She was a member of VFW Women’s Auxiliary, Utica.  
Mary is survived by her two daughters, Sandra K. Shirley and husband Jerry of Kanopolis, Kan., and Shirley Sue Rimpley and husband Tony of Tulsa, Okla.; 12 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Dole Townsend; son, Stanley Townsend; brothers, Dale and Loren Turner; and sisters, Myrtle Quinn, Rosa Wigington, Ethel Teel, Opal Teel and Esther Turner.
Graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at Utica Cemetery, Utica, Kan.
Memorials may be given to the Rice Community Healthcare Foundation-Swing Bed Unit in care of Birzer Funeral Home, Lyons.